1. Technical Field
This invention relates generally to a system for allowing a consumer contemporaneously obtain and activate a credit card, and more specifically to a method and system permitting a consumer to physically obtain a credit card, perhaps at a point of sale, and to have the credit card activated within a relatively short time thereafter.
2. Background Art
Credit cards provide consumers and businesses with a means to purchase goods and services at a first date, while paying for these goods and services at a later date. Credit cards are advantageous in that they help people manage cash flow. For instance, a consumer may purchase food when convenient, while paying for that food at a later time, perhaps after receiving a paycheck. Similarly, businesses may make purchases of raw materials with a credit card, thereby delaying payment until those materials may be converted into product and sold.
Ordinarily, consumers and businesses obtain credit cards through the mail. The application may be in response to a solicitation, or it may be a direct application made by an applicant, either on paper or on-line, perhaps through the Internet. Upon applying for the credit card, a lender then researches the applicant's financial history. This may include pulling credit reports, checking with employers, and checking bank and financial account records. Once approved, the lender issues and mails a credit card to the applicant. Once the card is received, the applicant must then activate the card, usually by calling a number and providing information to validate both the applicant's identity and his receipt of the card.
The problem with these prior art approval-disbursement-activation systems is that they are time consuming. The application and approval process can take several weeks. Where a person needs credit quickly, the prior art methods simply do not suffice. By way of example, when an emergency strikes, such as a thunderstorm damaging the roof of a home, a person may need credit quickly to properly patch the roof. Prior art systems requiring a delay of weeks are not effective options.
A second problem with prior art systems is that they provide the applicant with very little choice. Unless the Applicant receives several solicitations in the mail at the same time, it may be difficult and cumbersome to compare the various terms and conditions associated with each card.
There is thus a need for an improved credit card offer, approval, and activation system that reduces the overall time between consumer demand and activation, which additionally facilitates consumer choice.
Skilled artisans will appreciate that elements in the figures are illustrated for simplicity and clarity and have not necessarily been drawn to scale. For example, the dimensions of some of the elements in the figures may be exaggerated relative to other elements to help to improve understanding of embodiments of the present invention.